Fans of Mallu comic superhero seek 'minority' tag

KOZHIKODE: They are from Kerala, they follow a religion called Dinkoism and worship a mouse called Dinkan.And now they want to be given 'minority' status.

Sounds silly?

Well, that's exactly the point the 500-odd Dinkoists were trying to make on Sunday at a congregation in Mananchira.

The Dinkoists are a group of people that challenge superstition and religious orthodoxy, no matter what religion. They are very popular in social media for trolling superstition-ridden religious fundamentalists.

Dinkan is a comic superhero mouse, who first appeared in 1983 in a now-defunct Malayalam children's magazine `Balamangalam'.

At the congregation on Sunday, the Dinkoists vowed to fight illegal quarrying that is destroying the Pankila forest, the 'abode' of Lord Dinkan.

Dinkoist leaders, dressed in Dinkan T-shirts, performed various rituals.

In a freewheeling question and answer session they enunciated the principles of their religion.

They were asked about the Dinkoist concept of heaven. "Why should we look for another heaven when we can make heaven on Earth through good acts?" one Dinkoist said.

Dinkoism has no temples. All places where followers gather to discuss and debate creatively are called Dinkalayams, or the abode of Dinkan, they said.

Former Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad president K Papputty, who was among the audience, said the Dinkoists have been successful in giving a creative and satirical response to undesirable practices in established religions.